AI & AutonomyUSAF Designates Talon CCA Contender As YFQ-48A YFQ-48A is the designation for Northrop Grumman‘s Project Talon series of drone contenders for the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the service said on Dec. 22. The YFQ-48A Mission…
MilitaryFirst MQ-25 Flight Test Pushed To Early 2026 The Navy and Boeing have pushed back the initial flight test of the first MQ-25A Stingray aircraft carrier-based tanker aircraft into early 2026. The government-industry team insisted they are making progress towards…
MilitaryBoeing Moves To Relocate Super Hornet Service Life Modification Work Away From St. Louis Boeing on Sept. 24 announced it is relocating its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Service Life Modification (SLM) work out of its St. Louis region facilities and it plans to wrap up remaining SLM…
MilitaryRTX’s Pratt & Whitney Receives $2.8 Billion for Lot 18 of F135 RTX‘s Pratt & Whitney has received a $2.8 billion U.S. Navy contract for Lot 18 F135 engines for the three variants of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter. The contract includes…
MilitaryHundreds Of Switchblades Delivered So Far In First Replicator Tranche, DIU Official Says The contractor supplying Switchblade loitering munitions to the Defense Department under the first phase of the Replicator initiative has delivered “hundreds” of systems to a customer who has fielded them, a Defense…
MilitaryUSAF Expects to Field BTAR Fix for KC-46A Late in Fiscal 2027 The U.S. Air Force expects to field a fix for the stiff aerial refueling boom (ARB) on the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker late in fiscal 2027. “The stiff boom deficiency is being…
AI & AutonomyMerlin to Integrate Its Mission Autonomy Software Onto Northrop Grumman M437 Boston-based Merlin said on July 30 that it is to integrate its Merlin Pilot autonomy software for Northrop Grumman‘s Beacon testbed project using the Scaled Composites Model 437 (M437) aircraft. Merlin said…
MilitarySenate Appropriators Back Army ATI Cuts But Knock ‘Disjointed Rollout,’ Rebuke Plan To End T901 Engine The Senate Appropriations Committee has backed most of the Army’s divestments as part of its new transformation initiative, while its defense spending bill rebukes a plan to end development of the new…
MilitaryRed Cat Expects LRIP Order Soon For Army’s SRR Small Drone, ‘Aggressive’ Ramp Up In FY ‘26 Red Cat Holdings has said it’s expecting a low-rate production order “very soon” for the Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) small drone program, noting the service’s plan for a “significant” fielding ramp…
Electrification and SustainabilityArmy Exploring Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Propulsion Technology With Electra Electra has received a small research contract from the Army to mature hybrid-electric propulsion systems the company is developing for its ultra-short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft to advance the technology, and…